It is protocol in the days leading up to the Inauguration for the President Elect and the Vice-President Elect to call upon the Justices of the United States Supreme Court. But how many of our prior President-Elects had cases pending before the Court where the President Elect is a named Defendant.
On January 14th, without the presence of media, the Chief Justice and the eight Associate Justices met behind closed doors with Barack Obama (aka Barry Soetoro) and Joseph Biden, both of whom are named Defendants in multiple lawsuits throughout the country, which are challenging the Constitutional eligibility of Barack Obama’s Presidency. In so meeting with a named Defendant, were legal professional responsibility rules violated.
From the American bar Association’s Code of Judicial Conduct (2007):
CANON 1
A
JUDGE SHALL UPHOLD AND PROMOTE THE INDEPENDENCE, INTERGRITY, AND IMPARTIALITY OF THE JUDICIARY, AND SHALL AVOID IMPROPRIETY AND THE APPEARANCE OF IMPROPRIETY
http://www.abanet.org/judicialethics/ABA_MCJC_approved.pdf
While the meeting in and of itself may not have been improper, the appearance of impartiality and of avoidance of impropriety are tantamount. With the number of cases pending, the proper protocol would have been for the Supreme Court AND the President Elect to have acknowledged that this meeting would be improper and it should have been cancelled. There are, after all, conference discussion scheduled on Obama citizenship cases tomorrow (01/16) and on January 23rd.
Just makes the cases all the more interesting and dynamic!
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3 comments
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January 15, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Interested Bystander
JAMES,
Just wondering what is going to happen next Tuesday, if, Obama decides to fire Fitzgerald?
Can he do this? I know the Special Prosecutors work at the President’s leisure, and with Fitz being in the spotlight, I’m sure it will be pretty difficult for Obama to get rid of him, however, if he thinks Fitz might find something on him, who knows.
With all of the “questionable” appointments, I wouldn’t put it past Obama.
January 15, 2009 at 6:40 pm
JAMES
I think that will be more trouble for Obama than the federal judges that were dismissed by the Bush administration.
January 15, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Ted
The current SCOTUS threshold for a MUST STAY of BHO’s inauguration is not whether he is ultimately determined constitutionally ineligible to be POTUS, merely whether there now is SERIOUS QUESTION on his constitutional eligibility, since any determination of inelligibility AFTER inauguration would pose unnecessary civil and military difficulties.